1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to wood chippers and, more particularly, to an assist assembly for an infeed pan of a wood chipper.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known to provide a wood chipper for chipping wood such as brush, branches, and the like to produce wood chips. An example of such a wood chipper is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,539 to Morey. In this patent, the wood chipper includes an infeed hopper, feed wheel assembly, and a cutting assembly having a rotatable disc with at least one knife or blade for chipping the wood entering the wood chipper and reducing it to wood chips. Typically, the wood chipper includes an infeed pan pivotally connected to the infeed hopper, which is raised and lowered by an operator to allow wood material to be placed on the infeed pan before entering the infeed hopper.
Although this infeed pan has worked well, it is heavy in weight, which makes it difficult for an operator to raise and lower the infeed pan. In addition, larger size wood chippers have heavier infeed pans, which may result in damage to the wood chipper if not raised and lowered smoothly. Therefore, it is desirable to assist an operator in raising and lower an infeed pan of a wood chipper.